1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fluid transfer, and more particularly to a do-it-yourself self-contained fluid change system for the removal of waste fluid materials, including, but not limited to various types of motor oils, hydraulic oils, transmission oils, greases and assorted coolants, from vehicles and machinery at their site, and delivery of new fluids to the vehicles and machinery in an improved manner wherein neither the collection of such waste materials nor the delivery of new materials requires the cleaning of the system after each use, and no loss of waste fluid is experienced, and this is all accomplished in a safe and effective manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lubrication systems in the motors and engines of vehicles and machinery require that their lubricants, ie., oil and oil filters, be replaced periodically.
In the case of a motor vehicle, conducting an oil change has traditionally and continues to involve placing a large basin or funnel under the vehicles oil pan, removing the oil drain plug to allow the oil to drain by gravity therein, removing the old oil filter from the engine block, installing a new oil filter, replacing the oil drain plug, and refilling the motor with new oil. The waste oil collected must then be disposed of.
Due to a heightened awareness of the deleterious effects of motor oil on the environment, which is now classified and must be handled as a hazardous waste, the disposal of waste motor oil has become more regulated, and fewer people care to accept it. Another problem which has not been addressed is the issue of the old oil filter which retains waste oil. These old oil filter are regularly simply thrown away in landfills.
Partly because of these problems, specialized quick oil change facilities have gained in popularity in recent years. These quick lube facilities promise and generally deliver quick and convenient service and take possession of the waste oil and old oil filters. These facilities typically collect the waste motor oil in barrels or tanks, and which are then hauled off or pumped out by tank trucks. The charges to have an oil change carried out at these businesses typically exceeds the costs of the new oil and new oil filter used by a factor of three to six, or even more.
For many who either prefer to service their own vehicles, or cannot afford the relatively high cost of having oil changes carried out by specialized facilities, the problem of how to safely and legally deal with and dispose of the waste oil and waste oil filter remains a huge problem. In the case of the old oil filter, these continue to retain a considerable amount of waste oil even when drained, and used oil filters are typically not received along with waste motor oil. The do-it-yourselfer end user will typically buy new oil in cans or bottles, d rain the old oil into an oil drain pan, and either refill the new oil jugs with the collected waste oil, or collect it in some other container. The end user will still be faced with the problem of what to do with the collected waste oil, the old oil filter, and the residual oil in the oil collection pan. Again, due to the reluctance of others to received the waste oil, and the waste oil filter, many individuals do not properly dispose of the waste oil, and oil coated containers and filters, which results in environmental degradation. In point in fact, the amount of new motor oil sold exceeds the amount of waste oil collected by about sixty-nine (69%) percent. While some oil is burned up in vehicles, much of this waste oil ends up in landfills, is dumped illegally down storm drains, in lakes, and on vacant land, or is simply stored long term in containers.
For many machines, vehicles and aircraft, cooling fluids, hydraulic fluids and lubrication oils, etc., must be replenished and/or replaced periodically. In many cases, the changing of their fluid is difficult and messy. In the case of private aircraft, the oil change process is typically time consuming and messy. In the case of mining machinery and equipment, the mine environment tends to be dusty, making frequent oil and grease changes necessary, yet difficult to accomplish without introducing dust into the new fluids and grease being delivered to the machinery.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,193,487 and 4,095,673 to Takeuchi discloses combined new oil vending and waste oil removing devices which are designed to allow waste oil to be removed and new oil to be delivered to a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,980 to Spiegel discloses a vehicle mounted service module for servicing a customer's vehicle by recovering waste fluids, i.e. old motor oil and specialty oils into a common waste fluid tank and delivery of the new fluids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,160 to Parker discloses an apparatus for servicing a vehicle's transmission and the like by removing the old fluid and introducing new transmission fluid.
There accordingly remains a need for a system which is low in cost, which prevents waste fluid from getting into the environment, and which is easy to use in all situations.